Sunday, March 4, 2012

Win a digital copy of Maid of the Midlands



In 1999-2000 my husband and I
lived in Kingston-upon-Hull in East Yorkshire. Our second floor flat overlooked
the River Humber which flowed into the North Sea. It was an experience I will
never forget. I immediately learned that I didn't speak English; I spoke
American and Southern American at that! My newest release, Maid of the
Midlands, was an indirect result of that time in my life.



Correlating with the fourth
day of March, I'll be giving away 4
digital copies of Maid of the Midlands today. Please comment and check back for
the winners.





Blurb:



Matilda is honored to be chosen to serve the captive queen
of Scotland when she is brought to Hafton Castle in the Midlands. Her devoted
service soon earns Queen Mary's affection. The lovely maid's innocent heart is
captured by Jondalar, a handsome, stalwart castle guard and they hope to wed.
But when Matilda learns of the guard's
betrayal of the queen she must chose between loyalty and love.





Excerpt:



All evening, Jondalar had
watched Matilda as she wove gracefully in and out among the dancing figures. He
made a valiant effort to curb his jealousy of her eager partners, but his
control was strained almost to breaking point by the one who claimed her now.
Seeing their sudden approach, the guard was caught in a dilemma. He had recognized the young Lord Hafton as
the one half-dragging the helpless Matilda toward the darkness and his first
impulse was to run his sword through the blackguard. But common sense curbed his violent thought,
and he merely put a well-placed foot in the lord's path causing him to fall
headfirst onto the stone floor. A brief
commotion ensued while valets rushed to aid the fallen lord and carry him to
his chamber to be tended.



Matilda looked into the eyes
of the man who had rescued her and smiled gratefully. Her cheeks were infused with a rosy glow as
she gasped quick breaths that caused her bosom to rise and fall seductively in
her low-cut gown. Suddenly overcome by
his desire for the beguiling maid who stood before him, Jondalar pulled her
into the shadows of the courtyard. There
on the cobblestones he swept her into his strong arms and swung her about in
time to the music.



At last he stopped but did
not remove his arms that encircled her.
“I have wanted to do that with ye meself all of this night,” he said
softly. “And this.”



He slowly lifted her dainty
white mask and kissed her thoroughly.
“There,” he said with a satisfied sigh.
“Was that not the best dance of the ball, I ask ye?”



“Yes, oh yes,” she said fervently,
then added reluctantly, “but I fear I must go back now.”



“And meself as well, before
we both are missed,”





8 comments:

Debby said...

Great excerpt. I liked the beginning of your post. I would love to visit the North Sea.
Debby236 at gmail dot com

Linda Swift said...

Hi Debby. Thanks for your comments. Good luck on being a winner today. Linda

Shadow said...

Great excerpt! It has me hooked and ready to read more! :) Thanks for sharing!
shadowluvs2read(at)gmail(dot)com

Linda Swift said...

Thank you, Shadow. Please keep checking till 7PM for further excerpts and bookcover which I had a problem with earlier. I hope you are a winner. Linda

MomJane said...

I do love a good but atypical historical romance... yours sounds like it is! Not lords and ladies, just real folks. I'll have to check it out!

Catherine Lee said...

I would love to spend time in England. I bet that was a terrific experience. Lots of fodder for writing.

catherinelee100 at gmail dot com

Linda Swift said...

Thank you, MomJane. This book is not your typical historical for certain from the "sin" of putting words in the mouth of an historial figure of great fame, to having a lowly lady-in-waiting to a castle guard for H&H. I think you'd like it. Good luck on winning.

Linda Swift said...

Yes, Catherine, my time in England was the more memorable time of my life and I left a huge chunk of my heart there. I'm really hopeful of going back some day for an extended stay. And meanwhile I can live there vicariously through my writing!